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Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Washington County, ME

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 
[Federal Register: December 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 78219-78220]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28de06-99]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for
Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Washington County, ME

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice: Intent to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is preparing a
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA)
for Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This notice advises the
public that the Service intends to gather information necessary for
preparing the CCP and EA pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge
System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969. The Service is furnishing this notice in compliance
with Service planning policy, to (1) advise other Federal and State
agencies and the public of our intention to conduct detailed planning
on this refuge; and, (2) obtain suggestions and information on the
scope of issues to include in the environmental document.
    The Service will involve the public through open houses,
informational and technical meetings, and written comments. Special
mailings, newspaper articles, Web sites, and announcements will provide
information about opportunities for public involvement in the planning
process.

DATES: We are planning to begin public scoping meetings in March 2007.
We will announce their locations, dates, and times at least 2 weeks in
advance, in special mailings and local newspaper notices, on our Web
site, and through personal contacts.

ADDRESSES: Moosehorn NWR, 103 Headquarters Road, Suite 1, Baring, ME
04694, at 207-454-7161 (telephone); 207-454-2550 (FAX); 
fw5rw_mhnwr@fws.gov (e-mail); http://www.fws.gov/northeast/moosehorn/ 
(Web site).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Nancy McGarigal, Refuge Planner, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035;
413-253-8562 (telephone); 413-253-8468 (FAX); e-mail 
northeastplanning@fws.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), the Service is
to manage all lands in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) in
accordance with an approved CCP. The plan guides management decisions
and identifies refuge goals, management objectives, and strategies for
achieving refuge purposes over a 15-year period.
    The planning process will cover many elements, including wildlife
and habitat management, visitor and recreational activities, wilderness
area management, cultural resource protection, and facilities and
infrastructure. Compatibility determinations will be completed for all
applicable refuge uses. We will also conduct a wilderness review on
refuge fee lands not currently designated as wilderness and a wild and
scenic rivers evaluation to determine whether any areas on the refuge
qualify for those Federal designations.
    Public input into the planning process is essential. The comments
we receive will help identify key issues and refine our goals and
objectives for managing refuge resources and visitors. Additional
opportunities for public participation will arise throughout the
planning process, which we expect to complete by September 2008. We are
presently summarizing refuge data and collecting other resource
information to provide us a scientific basis for our resource
decisions. We will prepare the EA in accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality procedures for implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d).
    The 28,885-acre Moosehorn NWR, established in 1937, is one of the
oldest refuges in the NWRS. Its purposes are to conserve and protect
fish and wildlife resources, including endangered and threatened
species, and to protect its wetlands and wilderness resources. The
refuge headquarters is located in the town of Baring, Maine. The
refuge's two divisions include the 20,131-acre Baring

[[Page 78220]]

Division, which borders the St. Croix River and Canada, and the 8,754-
acre Edmunds Division, located along Cobscook Bay. Within the existing
refuge boundary, 7,462 acres (30 percent) are designated part of the
National Wilderness Preservation System.
    Land cover on the refuge includes approximately 15 percent in
wetlands and 85 percent in uplands. Generally, refuge lands are
characterized by rolling hills, large rock outcrops, scattered
boulders, second-growth northern hardwood-conifer forest, and some
pockets of pure spruce-fir. Numerous streams, beaver flowages, bogs,
marshes, and scrub-shrub and forested wetlands are imbedded within the
forested landscape.
    We estimate that 54,000 refuge visitors annually engage in hunting,
fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and/or interpretation.
Over 65 miles of trails and roads closed to vehicular traffic provide
access for these activities on refuge lands. Special events,
environmental education and interpretive programs and self-guided
interpretive trails, observation platforms, and photography blinds
enhance visitor experiences.

    Dated: November 9, 2006.
Richard O. Bennett,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley,
Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. E6-22285 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P

 
 

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